


love is just another leap of faith

by elleterates



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Birthday, Canon Compliant, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Post-Canon, alex just thinks a lot, and he plans a day for him and henry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-20 18:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30009330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elleterates/pseuds/elleterates
Summary: While an actual party was in the works that Henry had no clue about, Alex had another eventful day planned to make his birthday fulfilling.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 11
Kudos: 36





	love is just another leap of faith

**Author's Note:**

> title from fever dream by mxmtoon
> 
> thank you, yet again, to tori for the prompt

March 12th, 2021

It was Henry’s first birthday that they were able to spend together as a couple. They had only just moved into the Brownstone a month and a half ago. Well only partially. It was a slow and tedious process, but Alex felt pretty settled by this point. If they had waited until March as their families suggested, Alex knew he would not only have gone crazy with impatience but also with the inability to celebrate Henry’s birthday. Alex doesn’t remember much of what he and Henry did on his birthday last year, as they happened to be separated by an ocean and Alex couldn’t swing an excuse to fly out to London. They probably had phone sex. Alex vaguely recalled posting a PR-approved picture of them together with a bland birthday message as the caption. Not this year.

Henry’s birthday landed on a Friday, which means throwing a party was difficult, especially the surprise party Alex was planning. While it seemed like it would be a good day of the week, it became obvious pretty quickly that wrangling a group of 6 people in one spot from around the world was a herculean task, let alone a dozen to come to New York after a workday. Some have to fly from one coast of the United States to the other, some have to fly over the Atlantic ocean, and some of them are the President of the United States. Okay, one of them is the President of the United States, but it stands.

March 13th wasn’t a good day either because Henry’s mother had to attend some conference in Australia. Or Austria. He wasn’t paying much attention. March 14th had Pez visiting family. March 15th had them all back at work, yet again, so they all had to settle, much to Alex’s dismay, on March 20th. 

“At that point, it’s closer to my birthday than it is to his.” Alex pouted to June over the phone.

“I know and I’m sorry. It was the only day we were all available. Also, it’s only closer to your birthday by a day. It’s fine.”

“Ugh, stop being reasonable and let me complain.”

So while an actual party was in the works that Henry had no clue about, Alex had another eventful day planned to make his birthday fulfilling. Well, he had an empty day he planned on filling with things that Henry wanted to do, he just hadn’t asked yet. Alex typically didn’t have class on Fridays, purposefully, so more often than not, he slept in until 10 and woke up to Henry already out of bed with a cup of coffee ready for him. Not today. 

Alex woke up at 7 am to make breakfast in bed and attempt to make Henry’s tea which Henry will criticize but drink all of it anyway. Waffles, eggs, and toast (with no beans) were all he was able to scramble together because he knew that if he spent too long out of bed, Henry would wake up and come search for him. It’s cute the way Henry’s first instinct in the morning is also to find him, whether it’s pulling him into his chest, searching the house until he can get a hug, or calling him with a pout in his voice. It made Alex’s heart clench every time, but in times like this, it’s inconvenient. 

Once he finished up cleaning up, poorly but it’s something, he made his way upstairs to see a hyper David wagging his tail, clearly begging for food. “Fuck,” Alex muttered under his breath. He knew he was running on a limited amount of spare time, but he also knew that if he didn’t give David something, they weren’t going to get a moment of peace. It’s not like David wasn’t fed, he had a bowl of food downstairs, it’s only that they spoil the dog. A lot. “You’re lucky you are fucking cute,” Alex sighed as he tossed half of his waffle at the dog. Luckily, to Alex’s surprise, Henry was still fast asleep, making soft humming noises that made Alex’s heart melt. He figures it means that Henry is having a pleasant dream.  _ Good,  _ Alex thought.  _ Nothing should burden you today. Or ever. Nothing should hurt you or make you sad, but especially not today. Not if I could help it. _ If Alex was in his right mind, he would recognize that he’s thinking irrationally, but how could he think right when Henry laid there, vulnerable to the world, but so trusting. Trusting of  _ him. _

As Alex moves to put the breakfast tray on Henry’s side table, he thinks about all the years to come. Years of making breakfast, whether for a morning treat in bed or for a simple morning sitting around the dining room table. Years of planning surprises for each other, big or small, just to see the other smile. Years of happy birthdays, happy anniversaries, and making fun of Henry’s happy Christmases. 

Henry moves a slight in his sleep but doesn’t wake up. Alex decides for him that it’s time to wake up and start his birthday celebration. No need to spend his 24th birthday wasting away in bed, so he wakes him up in the most appropriate way he knows. Inappropriately. 

Hands in his hair, gasps in his ear, lips on his skin. Everything falling together and exploding apart, only to cling together once more like an epic symphony.

“Happy birthday, baby,” Alex whispers into Henry’s ear after a moment of breathing. Henry gave a gruntled sigh in response and wrapped himself around Alex, burrowing into his neck. Alex could tell that he was falling asleep again, the bastard, so he just rubbed his back and spoke to the ceiling. “I made breakfast which you could see if you flipped over. David took half of my waffle. Well, I gave it to him so he wouldn’t scratch at the door. Maybe we should get up and shower so we can take him on a walk later. I made you tea. I think I perfected it. That reminds me. What do you want to do for dinner? I should probably set some reserva- ow!”

Henry bites his neck, not actually hard or pain, but just enough to shut him up. Alex felt the chain he wore around his neck sitting on top of the skin surrounded by Henry’s mouth. He didn’t do anything further, just slipped into sleep again. Alex probably would have found the image of his chain in Henry’s mouth hot if Henry wasn’t sleeping, but he was so Alex didn’t. Instead, he found himself analyzing the significance of such action. 

Maybe he spends too much time with Henry.

He once viewed the signet ring as a connection to Henry. A physical reminder of who Henry was to him. A  _ home. _ But he’s been home since Henry handed the ring over. He used the key on the very chain to open the door to his childhood home and showed Henry the place. He grew up there, he was seeped into the cracks in the floorboard, he painted in the photographs on the wall, he was written into the words of the dozens of notebooks stuffed into the top corner of his closet. But Henry wasn’t engraved in this house like he was in the ring. He was a face on a magazine page and a passing presence on the television. 

Yet the signet ring didn’t encapsulate all that was home to him either. It had the wear and tear of a lonely prince imprinted on every corner. It reflected years of contemplation and confusion. It represented grief and healing. It’s an embodiment of years of a suppressive family and royal duty. The place it sat on his neck and not on Henry’s finger shows trust and belief in a blooming relationship. But it doesn't show the Henry he knows now. He didn’t know the young boy reading books in an expansive library, searching for a character or a story that explained what he was feeling. He didn’t know the young prince who was freshly grieving his father but was forced to put on a brave face while watching his sister spiral. He didn’t fully know the Henry who gave him the ring. He thought he did, but he learned some much about him in the short time after being given the heirloom. He still is learning so much about him.

The house he laid in now was the closest representation of home he could conjure. Or maybe it was Henry himself, with the chain laying limp against his bottom lip. Henry with them the memory of his own past, burdened or blessed, and the stories of Alex’s, either told to him by Alex or by any number of relatives he knew or was sure to encounter. The embodiment of their present and the promise of their future. 

Maybe it was alright to spend one day wasting away in bed, in the arms of the one you love the most. At least Alex had the 20th to look forward to. And cold food. Maybe David could have the rest.

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is call march madness in google docs. it's a horrific name, i know, but it makes me laugh. luckily i spared y'all <3 this is the closest thing to smut i've ever written, i don't even know if it counts... 
> 
> comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!  
> chat with me on twitter @alexgcds or on tumblr @alexgcd


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